Fans are a great, cost-effective way to mitigate the more intense heat of the summer without having your AC running almost continually. Whether it’s at home, the office, or outdoor work space, selecting the right fan is key to staying cool and achieving energy savings.
While it seems straightforward enough, some overlap exists that may make it confusing when deciding between a standard household fan or a stronger commercial fan. Then there are various types in each category that could require additional consideration. This article will outline some basic guidelines for choosing the right fan for your space.
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- Household Fan or Commercial Fan?
- What Kind of Household Fan Do I Need?
- What Kind of Commercial Fan Do I Need?
- How Powerful Should the Fan Be?
- What Additional Features Should I Be Considering?
1. Do I need a Household Fan or a Commercial Fan?
Household fans are ideal for use around the house or office space and are often designed with versatility in mind. These include heavy-duty, or shop fans which are ideal for mitigating heat in workshops, garages, and other indoor and outdoor places around your home. There are a variety of designs, colors, and uses to consider when deciding on just the right fan.
Do you need to stay cool at your workspace or personal office? Do you need to reduce the heat in a large family room, your kitchen, or outdoor living area? Is your bedroom too warm at night for sleeping comfortably? You’ll find the right model to suit any one of these needs in a household fan.
Commercial, or Industrial fans with their durable construction, are the best choice for use in a commercial setting where they can ventilate large, open spaces and withstand prolonged operation in harsher environments. Some smaller models can also be useful in a home setting for larger outdoor areas as well.
Do you need more effective cooling in a warehouse or commercial kitchen? Are outdoor job-sites sweltering, and you need relief during intensely hot days? Do you need specialized cooling for a kennel, barn, or stable? You can find the right commercial fan for your needs that will both alleviate the problem and be economical.
While some fans are flexible enough to satisfy both residential and commercial needs, keep in mind your own individual reasons for needing a fan and try to find a model that is meant especially for that purpose.
2. What kind of household fan do I need?
Household fans can range from small, personal fans to larger heavy-duty fans for use in workshops and garages. Designs include floor fans, tower fans, desktop/table fans, and pedestal fans. Then there are more specialized fans like misting fans and ceiling fans.
The real question is how much space do you need to cool and what kind of cooling level do you need?
- Personal Fans: If your office, cubicle, even bathroom stays too warm, a personal fan is just the ticket to keep air moving, so you feel cooler. Travel fans also fall into this category.
- Tabletop and Floor Fans: These work really well to keep bedrooms, home offices or studies, and kitchen areas more comfortable. Choose a size and style that best fit the layout and size of the room. The greater the CFM, the more powerful the airflow.
- Tower Fans and Pedestal Fans: Tower fans are slim in design and are a great choice for medium to large rooms where floor-space is limited. Pedestal fans elevate the fan head which helps to circulate air more evenly and are wonderful for large rooms, enclosed patios, and screened-in porches that are protected from the weather.
- Misting Fans: If you love spending time outside but need a bit of relief from the summer sun, a misting fan provides airflow and a fine mist to keep things ultra-cool.
- Ceiling Fans: These fans are an ideal choice for large rooms, including master bedrooms and porches, to provide cooling air circulation in the summer, and destratification of warm air in the winter. They help save energy year-round.
- Garage & Shop Fans: These are heavier-duty than ordinary household fans, designed for use in garages, workshops, greenhouses, and other areas that need more airflow and durable design.
Check out our Household Fan Buying Guide for more detailed information and product suggestions.
3. What kind of commercial fan do I need?
To keep large commercial spaces cool during intense summer heat, an industrial or commercial fan is the solution. Whether its people or animals, everyone suffers when the temperatures peak so having a rugged fan that can really deliver the CFM of airflow is essential. Based on the configuration of your space and its size, there is a commercial fan that will fill the bill.
- Ceiling HLVS Fans: These fans run quietly since they operate at low speeds but still deliver high-volume airflow. Great for covered outdoor eating areas, large warehouses, and gyms.
- High-Velocity Floor Fans: These deliver powerful airflow and are ideal for large office spaces and workshops, including artist studios, common areas in living communities, and schools.
- Drum Blowers: These extra-large, heavy-duty air circulators have wheels to make them more easily portable. They feature durable metal construction and deliver high-velocity airflow which can be directed by positioning the rotating fan drum where most effective. Ideal for industrial workshops, warehouses, auto shops, loading docks, and more.
- Wall-Mount Fans: When space is limited, but you need powerful air circulation, these fans are a good choice. Ideal for barns and other farm facilities, kennels, and industrial spaces, they provide cooling relief without getting in the way.
For more detailed information about these fan types, plus some product suggestions, see our Industrial Fan Buying Guide.
4. How powerful does my fan need to be?
Fan power is usually measured by the airflow it generates in cubic feet per minute, or CFM. The higher the CFM rating, the more powerful the airflow.
Most fans, whether household fans or commercial/industrial fans, have more than one fan speed so you have a range of airflow. You want to look for the maximum CFM in the specification section to find the highest rate of airflow. Based on the area of your commercial or industrial space, you can determine which fan will best meet the cooling need.
This is a handy way to determine how much CFM you need based on the size of the space you’re cooling. You will need to know the size in cubic feet. If you know the square footage and the ceiling height, you can figure the cubic feet by multiplying those two numbers together.
ex: 800 sq. ft. room with 9 ft. ceilings = 7200 cubic feet
Divide the cubic feet of your space by the CFM rating of the fan.
ex: 7200 cu. ft. ÷ 300 CFM = 24 minutes
This means that this particular fan will be able to change/circulate the air in the room once every 24 minutes. You can convert this to changes per hour dividing 60 (minutes) by 24 minutes. In the above example, it would be 60 ÷ 24 = 2.5 changes per hour. The ASHRAE guidelines for changes per hour is between 5 and 6 for a bedroom and 7 to 8 for kitchens.
5. What additional features should I be considering?
When it comes to features, let the place where the fan will be used be your primary guide. The following is a list of some of these with a short explanation.
- Automatic Oscillation: A lot of fans have this feature, which allows it to move from side to side automatically, widening the airflow coverage.
- Number of Fan Speeds: If you want options when it comes to airflow, make sure the fan has more than one speed.
- Adjustable Height: Usually associated with pedestal fans, this indicates that you can change the height of the fan head on the pole.
- Adjustable Fan Head: More common on larger floor fans and industrial fans, the fan head can be pivoted up or down to move airflow in a specific direction.
- Remote Control: Definitely a convenience feature, this could be important depending on the placement of the fan.
Keep in mind that specialized fans like misting fans will have their own set of features that include things like “continuous fill” and “mist size,” so you’ll want to think about where and how it will be used.
Summary
Choosing the right fan for the job and the space can sometimes be a little confusing. These 5 things to consider are a quick guide to helping you decide which type of household or commercial fan you need to help you stay cool during hot, summer months, plus some of the special features to look for.
